About 42 years ago, as a very lucky 11 year old, I was on my first cruise. Along with hundreds of other schoolchildren on the educational school-ship SS Uganda. She was owned by British India Line, a subsidiary of P&O. Not relevant? Well the Uganda is the reason I now have dozens of cruise notches, one of life’s defining moments.
Also significant is that on that first, or perhaps it was the second such cruise, we were unable to dock in Rhodes because of an adverse swell, and I’ve been waiting for over forty years to return to the island.
We started by aiming for the stadium beyond the city, but I’m a bugger for side-tracking, so by way of a convoluted route we pass the sad sight of an overnight fire, plaguing many Greek islands and the mainland at the moment, but get to see the sunken cave dwellings, the Nymphaea and then the Acropolis of Rhodes before we get to the ancient stadium.
We then returned to the old town and commenced our planned walk around. We started at the Palace of the Grand Master, a reference to the Knights Templar who were the ruling order here for many years.
The entire old town, a walled fortress, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and therefore protected against many things. It’s a shame that doesn’t include tourists and shopkeepers, but the world isn’t perfect!
We wandered round for several hours, weaving in and out of the most wonderful little alleyways past ruins and small squares. Unfortunately, just like Santorini there are too many people, both locals and not, and it feels overbearing.
Later we head towards the Collossus of Rhodes, expecting to find something huge (well, you would wouldn’t you?) and we were really rather deflated to find a bird and bird-shit covered monument, albeit a memorial, stuck in the middle of a crazy square surrounded by honking traffic!
Continuing around the headland we did a circuit of the new town, walked back past the old town and the harbour and returned to the sanctuary of the Odyssey - just in time for lunch, of course!
We whiled away the afternoon on five aft, although I was up and down with various matters relating to our next cruise and our next car, hopefully both sorted happily now. Thank goodness phone calls in Europe are free, for a few more months anyway (don’t get me started!)
We had to shower and dress early as Mel Mellors had an early show. He worked so hard, really difficult getting the “cousins” to respond - personally I think he’s a genius, but his humour and tricks are too complex for a large percentage of the audience!
Afterwards we make a bee-line for the Patio Grill, there’s only a limited number of tables available and already, 15 minutes before it’s open half are occupied. We stake our claim in the front section and wait like predatory lions for the chow to arrive.
Of course, champagne makes the wait palatable and before too long the grill is open. We enjoy gravadlax, beetroot and goats cheese, fettuccine with cream truffle sauce, luscious rib eye and finish with dark chocolate caramel tart and vanilla ice cream.
There’s a local Greek folklore dancing act onboard which we enjoy from the tenthfloor balcony overlooking the pool deck, before we retire to our veranda overlooking the city.
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